Spontooneous

I've resisted as long as I can.

"Conrad Gozzo: The Middle Years"

Go for it, Chuck! After all, the critics were unanimous in their praise for your 60-disc Ernie Royal retrospective.

Now that my state has a concealed-carry law, I'll have to look into that. I've never thought of the dollastore (as my Oklahoma relatives say) as a source for self-defense equipment. I do rely on it, however, for a nonstop supply of yummy, addictive chocolate Moon Pies.

Simply amazing. Repeat how many times? Don't leave us hanging! Details, man!

The Brendel double is a real good starting place. I wore out the LP of 960. There's a wonderful 960 by Lupu on London/Decca. 78-rpm surface noise and all, EVERYBODY should hear Artur Schnabel's recording of this piece.

Six? That's a start... (No matter how many you have, check out William Kinderman on Hyperion.)

Streetside has been bought yet again in the past few months, by an even bigger chain. The selection at the KC store has been GUTTED. It's sadder than sad.

What, no advocates for "Far Cry"? Gotta have my "Miss Ann." Gotta have my Booker Little too.

Got me there. I have no knowledge of these things. And the guy who told the story is out of town.

Here's one I've been waiting to tell: A tenor-playing friend says he overheard Dewey warming up on his tenor in Chicago. Instead of warming up with scales or patterns or runs, all Dewey did was about 10 minutes of going VERY slowly up a half-step (I think my friend said C-sharp to D), exploring the notes between the notes, exploring his ability to control fractional differences in pitch, and changing the tone color now and then. He was just getting his tone built up, getting his command of the nuances in order -- and apparently trusting that everything else would fall into place after that.

Here's another one where Dewey takes care of business and then some. It's Tutu CD 888 154:

And remember this the next time you're thinking of buying a Universal product.

Eerie similarity to mikeweil's list of Nov. 1, which I didn't see until just now: Duke, Piano in the Foreground Duke, Piano in the Background Andrew Hill, Dance With Death Miles at Birdland 1951

Gee, who's in Donnie's rhythm section? You should invite your friends at Universal to post here more often.

Wow! Less than two hours! That's why this is my favorite hangout on the Internet. MANY thanks!

Would some kind soul please tell me the original sequences for the two Solid State live LPs? That's "Live at the Village Vanguard," SS-18016, and "Monday Night," SS-18048. I'd swear I had a copy of "Monday," but it's disappeared. Thanks kindly all.

I loved that Clapton-Mobley-Simon-Jarre supergroup. I played their album "Straight No Slowhand Oxygene After All These Years" all the time.

Willie Brown, in "M&O Blues," 1930: I start to kill my woman till she lay down 'cross the bed (2) And she looked so ambitious I took back ev'rything I said.

Anybody know of any Sulieman recording since his appearance on Randy Weston's "Spirits of Our Ancestors"? I can't recall seeing any. Good to see my other favorite trumpet player, Benny Bailey, sitting just behind Sulieman in that photo at top.

Blue Note just sent out this press release: For Immediate Release: Friday, October 29, 2004 Gil Melle, the baritone saxophonist, composer, painter, and all around Renaissance man, died yesterday of a heart attack at his home in Malibu, California. He was 73 years old. Melle was born on the last day of 1931 in New York City and began painting and playing the saxophone at an early age. When only 19 years old, he was signed to Blue Note Records by label founder Alfred Lion, becoming the first white artist on the storied jazz label. He made several 10" records for Blue Note and Prestige Records throughout the early 1950s before recording his first full-length 12" LP for Blue Note, Patterns In Jazz, in 1956. Apart from his musical career, Melle maintained a career as a visual artist, and at times the two intersected. His art, beyond showing at various New York galleries, was also used in the cover design of records by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, as well as several of his own records. Melle moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s and his jazz recording became sparse as he focused on painting and composing for film and television. His fascination with science and technology led him in the direction of electronic music and he began collecting, and even building his own, electronic instruments, including some of the earliest synthesizers and drum machines. In 1967, he performed with the first all-electronic jazz ensemble, The Electronauts, at the 10th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. His score for the sci-fi thriller The Andromeda Strain (1971), based on a novel by Michael Crichton, was perhaps the first electronic music score for film. Melle returned to Blue Note with his 1991 release Mindscapes, which included "The Blue Lion," a musical eulogy for his life-long friend and mentor Alfred Lion. "Gil was like a beloved son to Alfred," said Ruth Lion, Alfred's widow. "Gil Melle was a true Renaissance man, a multi-talented artist," said current Blue Note President Bruce Lundvall, "He was one of Alfred Lion's protégés and remained a great friend of the label right up until his passing." At the time of this writing, no information about memorial services was known.

Man, I missed this place! Like I miss being six years old. Nice and fast now.

OK, I'll try again. The album tries to be ECM-spacey but just sounds flat to me. It's like a substandard Eberhard Weber album with Bailey uncomfortably along for the ride -- as a follower, not as leader. (On LP, it even tried to look like an ECM. The CD cover is completely different.)

I just LOVE Benny Bailey, but this is my least favorite album of his, sad to say. Sounds like an ersatz ECM album. Benny doesn't seem too excited about the material. An interesting '70s relic, but just a relic for me. Maybe someday I'll like it better, but not today. Get "Grand Slam" on Storyville instead.

P.S. What quotes are the most overused? My nomination would be "Rockin' in Rhythm." It worked when Fats Navarro used it in his "Nostalgia" solo. But that was 55 years ago, and it hasn't worked since.